Case StudyReliability for Refineries: Petroleum coke facility reduces failure rates with heavy-duty slurry pump

Overview

PABTEX, L.P., located in Port Arthur, Texas, is

a bulk commodity handing facility and vessel

loading terminal that exports petroleum coke.

PABTEX stores up to 500,000 tons of material

before transferring the petcoke to shipping

terminals for transport to customers globally.

Raw petcoke is transported to the terminal in

bottom dump railcars, then processed through

shakers to break it into smaller chunks for easier

conveyor transport. Beneath the shakers is an

80ft deep conveyer shaft. Rainwater routinely

fills up this conveyer shaft, and requires a large

sump pump to rerouted rainwater to a retention

pond. With the shakers directly above the

conveyer shaft, pieces of abrasive petroleum

coke fall into the shaft, separating slurry and

routinely clogging the pumps.

After trying several submersible pumps for

the conveyer shaft sump application, the

maintenance supervisor for Savage Gulf

Services which operates the PABTEX Port

Arthur terminal, sought out their pump supplier

for a new pump solution.

PROBLEM

• Abrasive slurry damaged pumps

• Frequent clogging and pumpfailure

• High operating costs due torepairs and replacements

“Pumping reliability is critical to the

overall refining process,” PABTEX

and Savage Gulf Services

Solution

Together with his pump distributor, the

maintenance supervisor selected the Industrial

Flow Solutions™ BJM® KZN series abrasion-

resistant, solids-handling pump. KZN pumps

feature wet parts made of abrasive-resistant

chrome iron for maximum wear. The 28% high

chrome agitator is specifically designed for sand,

sludge and slurry applications. It keeps solids

from settling in the slurry, which makes it easier

to pump with less chance of clogging. A semi-

open impeller and wear plate handles solids

concentrations, as high as 70% by weight, of the

abrasive petcoke.

KZN series pumps feature double silicon carbide

mechanical seals that separate the oil-filled seal

chamber and a heavy-duty lip seal for additional

mechanical seal protection. These top-discharge

pumps are cooled by the pumped liquid, and do

not need to be fully submerged. Instead, they

can pump down to just a few inches of slurry

and still maintain operable motor temperatures.

(The other pumps left 3ft of un-pumped slurry

because they had to be submerged to avoid

overheating.)

The KZN series pump was installed for a 60-

day trial and was purchased after zero clog and

wear issues.

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RESULTS

• Abrasive-resistant chrome iron provided maximum wear

• No clogging or failures

• Top discharge design eliminated pump damage during pump moves

• Plant invested in multiple units

FEaTURES

• Abrasion-resistant solids-handling

pump

• Heavy duty, high-chrome agitator

(28%) for sand/sludge/slurry

applications

• Semi-open chrome impeller and

wear plate handles abrasive solids

• Double silicon carbide mechanical

seals in a separate oil-filled seal

chamber

aPPLiCaTiOnS

• Oil & Gas

• Mining & Minerals

The KZN was so successful, a second

was purchased 2 months later.